Kingdom Hearts: Dark Destinies
by Twilight Kiwi
Summary: 14-year-old Lazra finds his idyllic life in the world of Vertical interrupted by disturbing dreams. What shape will his destiny take after the cataclysm that follows? (*UPDATE!* CHapter 2 is fixed for REAL this time. :P Please re-read!)
1. Black Skies

*DISCLAIMER* Neither Square, Disney, nor any of their properties are mine. Though I, as many of you likely do, sorely wish they were. ^_^  
  
KINGDOM HEARTS: DARK DESTINIES  
CHAPTER ONE: Black Skies  
  
Lazra choked as the darkness surrounded him, an unnatural void that seemed to pull the air out of his lungs. Struggling to remain conscious he suddenly found himself on solid ground once again. Sitting up, he surveyed his surroundings. He was on some sort of small platform covered in detailed patterns and images, of strange people and places the likes of which he had never even imagined. As far as he could see was infinite darkness, not at all like the confined places in his home. Standing, he walked to the center of the platform. Just like every night before, a column rose suddenly from the ground. Hovering above it was an intricate, decorated spear, like the ones his ancestors had used for hunting wild birds and other, fiercer monsters.  
  
The voice spoke again, familiar words again, an echo hanging at the edge of his mind.  
  
Do you have the strength?   
  
He stepped forwards, reaching out towards the spear. Never before had he been able to take it. Always, he had stopped himself, or woken up, or some unseen force prevented him. At first he hadn't even been able to approach it.  
  
Can you accept your destiny?   
  
He sensed that tonight something was different.  
  
Reaching out, slowly, his hand closed around the spear's smooth shaft, and he stood unmoving for a tense moment before drawing the spear into his grasp. He released the breath he'd been holding, his shoulders sagging a bit. Maybe this meant it was over. Maybe he was finally finished with whatever message this dream was trying to convey.  
  
The column faded, and slowly a large white door materialized before him.  
  
Do you have the strength to change your fate?   
  
He stood before the ornate doorway, examining its surface, the spear held firmly in his hands. He was ready for whatever came next.  
  
Can you open the door?   
  
Yes. He could. He would wait no longer.  
  
A blinding light enveloped him as the doors were pulled open. He turned away from it to find his shadow stretching out, like a dark giant in his wake.  
  
An accurate description, he decided, as a towering black demon rose from it, roaring a challenge as it stared him down with hungry yellow eyes. Lazra stepped back in shock and horror, but had to spread his wings for balance as he nearly backed off the edge of the platform. There was no wind here and he didn't want to risk his chances in the endless dark below.  
  
Time is running out. The darkness approaches.   
  
Grimly steeling his nerves, Lazra shifted the spear to an attack position.  
  
But don't be afraid.   
  
Right.  
  
Yelling a battle cry, he launched into the air, rocketing towards the beast's head with his spear held before him. It brought a clawed arm towards him in a wide sweep, and he was--  
  
Awake.  
  
"I was wondering why it was so quiet around here today," a voice teased, rousing Lazra completely. He opened his pale blue eyes, squinting against the brightness, to find Mavri's short brown hair hanging in his face. She was inches away from his nose, as if she were about to bite it. Which she promptly did.  
  
"Hey!" Lazra jumped up to a sitting position, while Mavri leaned backwards, crouching at the other end of the hammock he'd been sleeping on, a huge grin plastered on her face.  
  
"You've been sleeping all day!" She said in a mock-stern voice. "Come on, we promised Nat and Kjar we'd help them finish their raft this weekend." Lazra grinned sheepishly at his sister, running a hand through his tousled brown hair to try and get rid of that "just-woke-up" look.  
  
"That we did." He yawned, then smiled at Mavri, gesturing to the edge of the tree branch. "Shall we, Mav?"  
  
"I'll race you!" his sister countered, then launched herself off the edge, spreading her delicate wings to catch the strong winds that blew upwards only a few feet away from the edge of the world known as Vertical.  
  
"Hey, no fair!" he laughed as he followed her into the updraft, beating his wings furiously to try and make up for her head start. She glanced downwards, seeing him approach rapidly, and grinned, pushing herself faster as well.  
  
Soon they arrived at the cave where the raft was being constructed, a shallow crevice in the wall not connected to the network of tunnels that ran through the interior of Vertical. Well, there was the strange dark place in the back of the cavern where whispers of wind could be heard, but none of them were small enough to fit through the crack to explore it, something that had greatly disappointed Mavri when they had first discovered it. Closing their wings as they grabbed onto the ledge, they scrambled inside out of the wind. As usual Lazra had kept pace with his sister but let her win in the end. She never seemed to mind, gloating just as if she had beaten him on her own. He laughed at her teasing, until Nat approached them, a serious expression on his face. "I see you forgot to bring the supplies I asked for," the older boy scolded.   
  
"Oh, lay off 'em," Kjar yelled from further back in the cave where he was working, waving a wing in their general direction without looking up and breaking concentration. "At least they came this time, right?" he teased. Lazra and Mavri had never really stood their friends up before, but they were often late. Mavri gave her most stunning smile and Nat's expression softened a bit.  
  
"And anyways, we DID get the wood," Lazra corrected his friend with a smile. "We stashed it at school yesterday and just haven't picked it up yet. We can't carry it all here ourselves without making a couple trips, so we figured we'd wait until today so you two could help." Nat rolled his eyes and sighed.  
  
"C'mon then, Kjar." The other boy complied, smiling a greeting to Mavri as he joined them, and the four took to the air, soaring upwards off the ledge. To an outsider, it may have seemed strange to find a thirteen year old girl hanging around with a trio of fourteen and fifteen year old boys, but it was a well-known fact in the community that wherever Lazra went, Mav followed. Nat and Kjar welcomed her companionship, as she was a bright and energetic girl who shared her brother's lighthearted nature. Their parents had died in a bad storm when they were young, and though their aunt had taken them in Lazra had become fiercely protective of his sister. The two were so close they could have been twins, and were each other's best friends.  
  
It was late in the afternoon when the four children decided they were done working for the day. The raft was nearly complete, a wide wooden platform supported by what would be five large balloons when filled with hot air. They sat at the edge of the world, looking out across the horizon. The endless clouds below them seemed to be on fire as the sun touched down, and as a glowing line stretched across the horizon several small black shapes could barely be made out. Their destination.  
  
Most of the inhabitants of Vertical were satisfied with their way of life. A titanic pillar of stone riddled with tunnels served as their home, rising starkly above the sea of mist below. No one had ever ventured below the mist and returned, but that wasn't the mystery the children were setting off to solve. No one had reached the top of Vertical before either, as the air grew too thin to breathe long before a top could even be seen, but this wasn't the answer they sought either.  
  
It was the infinite horizon that beckoned them.  
  
"There has to be SOMETHING out there," Mavri whispered, more to herself than the others. It was a conversation they'd had many times before. Anyone who tried to fly away from Vertical always either never returned, presumed dead, or came back starving and weak, barely surviving the return flight. The children had been stocking up preserved food for weeks now as they came closer to completing the raft. The journey had been Mavri's idea, but the raft was Nat's design. He had been inspired by the balloon ferries that were used to carry injured or sick people to higher or lower regions of Vertical. Kjar was their muscle; Lazra was strong, but couldn't match his burly but quiet friend. The four had no idea what, if anything, they would find beyond the edge of the world... Mavri hoped to find new worlds of their own, while Nat was in it for the knowledge. Lazra wanted adventure, not really caring what kind as long as it was different from the daily Vertical routine (though the fact that his sister was dead set on going was a major motivation as well). Kjar... he merely followed along. It was what he always did. Reliable, that was the best way to describe him. Lazra didn't really know why he wanted to come; Kjar seemed to him to be the type that would be perfectly happy if every day in his life was the same. He preferred the safety of familiarity to excitement and danger, despite his prowess in fending off the occasional cloud-drake that attacked their homes.  
  
"Well, we'd better get going," Nat announced, standing after a few more moments of silence as the sun disappeared over the edge completely and the stars slowly became visible. Kjar slowly joined him, stretching a bit. The two boys lived further up Vertical from the cave, unlike the siblings, so it would take them longer to get home. "See you two tomorrow MORNING," the "morning" part heavily stressed, and Lazra grinned widely while Mavri swore she'd get him up in time even if she had to throw him off the edge of the world to do so. With that, Nat and Kjar left the ledge, disappearing out of sight above.  
  
Lazra and Mavri stayed a while longer, Mavri leaning against her brother's shoulder as they watched the stars come out. Vertical's large bright moon came out from above Vertical, casting an eerie light across the cloudy sea below that was almost as bright as sunlight. It was never truly dark on Vertical unless you went inside the catacombs. A deep sigh escaped them both at the same time, and they turned to smile at each other.  
  
"What do you think we'll find out there?" Mavri asked her brother quietly, without looking at him. Another familiar question, but every time Lazra had answered differently, and usually ended up making up wild stories about magic towers or giant drakes or strange people without wings who flew across the sea of mist in giant balloon-ships. The tales always found an enraptured audience in his sister. But tonight, for some reason, he felt subdued, a heavy sense of foreboding pressing on his mind. He was about to answer when she interrupted him. "Hey! A star just disappeared!" Lazra gave his sister an odd look.  
  
"You mean a falling star?"  
  
"No... I saw it! It just winked out, like a lantern being doused..." Laz stared hard at the stars, but eventually gave up, unable to pick out a missing star from the millions above them. The sense of dread worsened.  
  
That couldn't be a good omen.  
  
---  
  
Lazra was roused from a deep slumber by someone shaking him roughly. He groggily sat up, mumbling to himself grumpily. "First time in weeks I have a normal dream and it's interrupted... WHAT!" he snapped, but instantly regretted his harsh yell when he saw his sister's stricken expression starkly against a flash of lightning from outside. It was then that he heard the violent winds rushing past his window. He didn't have to ask his sister what was wrong. "The raft!"  
  
There had been no sign of a storm this bad this weekend. They hadn't made any preparations against it, and the raft would be badly damaged and possibly even swept out of the cave if it wasn't battened down properly. Grabbing a coil of rope on their way, the siblings dashed outside to the porch without another word, but had to stop when they emerged, the door slamming shut noisily behind them. They were literally being pulled off the wide ledge by the force of the wind. A bolt of fear shot through both of them as they relived nightmares of another stormy night like this one, long ago... the night that had claimed the lives of their parents. Grimly, Lazra tied the rope around both their waists, and with another second to get their nerves up the two leapt outwards, spreading their wings.  
  
Lazra grunted as the wind nearly snapped his wings off, and he drew them closer to his body, keeping a worried eye on his sister to make sure she was still connected. Vertical rushed past them and he realized they were rising TOO fast; at this rate they wouldn't be able to slow down in time to reach the cave and would pass it. He closed his wings completely, and though she couldn't hear him shouting over the wind Mavri got the idea and did the same. Even still, they were rising, and Lazra realized it might be safer to sit the storm out in the cave once they got there rather than risk trying to get back home. Their aunt would be worried, but she knew about the raft and would guess that they had gone there.  
  
Finally the ledge of their cavern came into view, and they grabbed at it, almost missing but managing to pull themselves in by the tree branches that grew out of the cliffside. Coming in far enough so that the wind wasn't as bad, they stood huffing for a moment to regain their breath.  
  
"Good, you can help," a voice surprised them, and they looked up to find Nat already there, a coil of rope in his arms. "We climbed down from home," he explained, gesturing to Kjar as the burly teen rose momentarily from behind a stack of blankets he was tying down before returning to his task. Nat smiled grimly. "I'm glad you guys came." Suddenly a shout came from the back of the cave where Mavri had wandered to. Nat and Lazra ran to her side and found her cringing back from a strange creature, a small being of darkness with claws and antennae, its glowing yellow eyes resting on Mavri.   
  
"What... what is that!?" She stuttered. Lazra stared in shock. He had seen these before, in his dreams...  
  
It suddenly lunged for Mavri. She dodged out of the way, but cried out as her wing was cut by a swiping claw. Grabbing a thin wooden pole, Lazra put himself between the monster and his sister, anger mixing with fear. It wasn't a spear, but it would have to do. He bashed the monster over the heard, but it bounced off harmlessly, barely fazing it.   
  
"What is it made out of?" Kjar asked coldly as he came to Lazra's side, holding a curved saw, the best weapon he had been able to find. Nat was still struggling to get the raft tied down on his own, confident that Lazra and Kjar could handle the problem, as he wasn't much of a fighter himself.  
  
"It came from the dark place," Mavri said, pointing to the crack in the wall. It was then that Lazra noticed it had somehow become significantly wider than before. Were there more of these things in there? Kjar slashed at the monster but that, too, did no visible damage.  
  
"We can't fight it!" Nat yelled over the rising wind, which seemed to also be coming from the dark place now. "The raft is safe, let's get out of here!" Suddenly the creature seemed to sink into the ground, and the four stared as it moved like a shadow away from them. Then the shadow began spreading, until they were standing in a pool of darkness. Wisps and tendrils began rising up towards them, and Nat panicked, trying to get to the edge. His feet were caught however, and the darkness slowly spread up his legs and covering his body. The others were suffering a similar fate, Kjar stoically accepting the fact that he couldn't get away and crossing his arms.  
  
"MAVRI!" Lazra screamed, desperately trying to get a hold of his sister. She too struggled to reach him, but to no avail, as the darkness closed over their heads.  
  
"I'm not afraid..." she whispered to her brother.  
  
Suddenly there was a bright flash of light. Lazra staggered, regaining his balance after a couple of seconds, to find the darkness gone... along with the others.  
  
In his hands was a weapon.  
  
He didn't know exactly how to describe it. It looked like a spear, but instead of a sharp edge it was rounded off, with two odd protrusions that he thought looked like a sort of key and a small, rounded nub where the blade would have been, and a strange sort of key chain on the other end of the short pole. Where had it come from? And where were the others?  
  
The shadow-monster reappeared. Or perhaps it was a different one. Lazra didn't care.  
  
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SISTER!" he shouted, enraged, and slashed at the shadow. He was surprised when the odd weapon cut cleanly through the monster, and it keened in pain, staggering backwards. Lazra's eyes narrowed. "So, this thing can hurt you eh? Then TAKE THIS!" He stabbed forwards, impaling the shadow. It let out a sort of low hiss, and without even falling it simply... evaporated was the best word Lazra could come up with, a small glowing object rising from where it had been before and fading. Staring, Lazra examined the spear more closely, wondering how something without even a sharp edge could be such an effective weapon.  
  
He didn't have time to ponder further on the subject, as a half-dozen more shadows materialized around him.  
  
Holding the staff at arm's length, he spun in place, knocking the shadows back, then snapped the spear back across his field of vision to strike a smashing blow on the closest shadow. It, too, disappeared. Using the momentum from his attack Lazra lunged forward, stabbing through another monster with a powerful blow and destroying it as well. The remaining four seemed to get the idea and sank into the ground to reappear behind him, but he whirled, catching two of them with the odd-shaped end of his spear and sending them flying. He jabbed several times in quick succession at another shadow, killing it, then gasped in pain as the fourth raked its claws across his arm. Gritting his teeth, he slashed his spear back and forth in front of him twice, killing that shadow as well. The remaining two were dispatched without further complications.  
  
"Is that all you've got?" he yelled out at the storm, confused and afraid and worried about Mavri, but not about to show it.  
  
Apparently, it wasn't.  
  
A sudden wind picked up, pulling him BACKWARDS, the direction he had least expected. Lazra had enough time to realize that he was being sucked into the dark place somehow, along with most of the rest of the cave's contents, before he blacked out.  
  
Lazra came to his senses to find a bizarre sight. Standing, shaking, he looked out at the ocean of mist in all directions. It was as if the entire top of Vertical had been ripped off entirely, and as he watched Lazra could see large chunks of rock breaking off and being sucked upwards as well. What was happening to Vertical? What had happened to everyone else? Where they dead?  
  
Lazra saw the mist below being sucked upwards like reverse waterfalls. His eyes followed them upwards until he found the apparent source of the problems: where the moon had been, a huge swirling void now hovered, sucking up the world of Vertical like it was water running down a drain. Lazra shivered, afraid, alone, the last survivor of a dying world as far as he could tell. He clasped the odd spear to his chest, somehow feeling strengthened by it.  
  
A roar from behind grabbed his attention.  
  
Lazra slowly turned to face the monster of his nightmare.  
  
The feelings of rage and sorrow at his sister's disappearance suddenly broke to the surface. Uttering a wordless scream of fury Lazra charged it head-on. It brought a massive claw smashing down towards him but the boy leapt over it with a quick downthrust of his wings, no wanting to fly completely because of the wind, and landed on its arm. Stabbing his spear into its hand, he quickly pulled it free again and ran nimbly up the creatures arm as it reared backwards, slamming his weapon into its head at full speed and then hitting it repeatedly on the back of the neck. It swiped and swung at him angrily, and eventually managed to throw Lazra off, but not before he substantially wounded the thing. Power surged through his veins, fed by the strange spear.  
  
A gaping hole appeared in the monster's chest, and Lazra thought for a moment he had defeated it until it began launching large orbs of dark energy at him. With a sweep of his wings for a quick burst of speed Lazra dodged the first two, but couldn't get out of the way of the third one in time. Bringing his spear to bear, he tried to block some of the damage, and was surprised when the spear completely deflected the attack without even hurting him, and sent it flying back at the monster. The beast roared as it was struck by its own attack, and Lazra made use of the distraction to leap upwards and slash its waist. The monster staggered back, then finally began sagging backwards into an unnatural position before fading like the smaller ones had. Lazra crouched, breathless, almost completely worn out, the surge of strength fading. The spear disappeared in a swirl of light but Lazra felt that he could call on it again whenever it was needed.  
  
The wind suddenly picked up again, and it almost felt as if gravity had reversed completely this time. With the growing darkness above him Lazra almost believed it. He latched onto a rock jutting out of the ground, but he was too worn from the fighting to hang on...  
  
Closing his eyes, Lazra was pulled up, away, into the darkness...  
  
Doon't be afraid...   
  
  
*Chapter 2 Coming Soon! Please review!* 


	2. Worlds Apart

*DISCLAIMER* Neither Square, Disney, nor any of their properties are mine. Though I, as many of you likely do, sorely wish they were. ^_^

****

KINGDOM HEARTS: DARK DESTINIES

CHAPTER TWO: Worlds Apart

Soaring through the ether between worlds, Rena's consciousness followed the strands of fate that tied each together, picking apart the tales they told of destinies yet unfolded. Only here could she escape the weight of the troubling visions that had plagued her recently. She knew what was coming, and that the forces stirring to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting worlds would soon break free of their prison completely.

A gloved hand rested on her shoulder, drawing Rena out of her meditation. Without opening her eyes, she bowed her head respectfully.

"Your Majesty."

"The Keyblade sings, Rena. Its brother has found a master." Rena's eyes snapped open, and she stood, turning to face the gnarled old king.

"So it's finally begun. But Majesty, something's wrong. The paths of fate don't connect properly. I fear that something has already happened to the new Keybearer before he's even been given the chance to discover what he really is."

"Not surprising." The king's wrinkled, mouse-like face was darkened with sadness as he spoke to his young Court Magician. "The Heartless have always sought out the Keybearer to try and destroy him before he has come into his full power. Always they have failed, for it is in these times of crisis that the Keyblade reveals itself."

"I know all this, Majesty. I've been taught it since I was old enough to speak. We all have." Rena sighed heavily. She had been preparing her entire life for this day. Possessing the greatest magical prowess in her generation, it was her duty and her destiny to guide and protect the Keybearer on his quest. "So what should we do?"

"You must find him. I will send you with Geros to seek out the new Keyblade Master. You know what to do from there." Though the king said nothing of it, Rena knew he would be leaving soon as well, to find the Door. It was the way things had gone for two thousand years. Ever since the Heartless were first given enough strength to become a threat to the entire universe, and the first Keyblade Master rose up against them, the people of the world of Disney had shaped their entire culture around the battle against the Heartless. Every few centuries the monsters would gain enough strength to release themselves from their prison within the Heart of All Worlds, and at that time the Keyblade would be reforged to serve a new master.

Rena nodded, then with a short bow to the King left to make preparations for the long journey ahead. The King gazed sadly after her. The green-eyed, silver-haired girl was far too young for such an ordeal, barely seventeen years old. He cursed the Heartless and their masters silently for not waiting even a few more precious years to reemerge... still... just as his ancestors before him, he had not choice but to fight. Although this time King Michael IX would not be doing much fighting himself. The anthropomorphic mouse was far too old, but he was determined to do what had to be done.

Concentrating, the King summoned his Keyblade to his hand, running his hand slowly down the blade. It was time.

---

Mavri blinked at the cold water running down her face. It took her a few moments to realize that she was conscious, because the last thing she remembered was being dawn into darkness...

Her brother's voice... and a bright light... how had she gotten here? Where was everyone?

Come to think of it, where was _here?_

Pulling her wings over her head to keep the rain off, Mavri began walking. As she did she noticed just how FLAT this strange place was. Flat as fat as the eye could see in every direction, though there were small (compared to Vertical at least) towers all over the place as well, brightly lit from within. Excitement drowning out her fear and confusion for a moment, she realized she had somehow made it to another world.

What kind of world was this? It seemed opposite to her own: dark on the outside and light on the inside, flat instead of tall. The darkness would have bothered her, except for the strange lamps that ran down the wide trial she was walking on. The black ground was hard, like stone but not quite, so smooth and even that Mavri had to assume it was manmade. As all the tall houses appeared to be. In fact, she couldn't see a single tree or rock or pool anywhere, except for the puddles along the sides of the path.

As her initial rush faded she had to face the reality that she was alone, and for all she knew her brother and friends were dead.

"No," she whispered to herself, "I'd know if something happened to Lazra... I know I would..." Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a roaring sound in the distance that was getting closer by the second. A pair of glowing eyes appeared down the path, coming towards her at alarming speed. She ran to the side of the path, ready to take flight if she had to, and watched as moments later a strange machine on wheels rushed past her, sending a spray of water to cover her already-soaked clothes. Wearing only loose white pants and a small blue top, she was definitely not dressed for cold, rainy weather, and this fact was made all too apparent as she launched into uncontrollable shivers. She moved towards the closest tower, stumbling to the door, her only concern getting to the warmth and light inside. Once she was through the door she heaved a sigh of relief, shaking the water off her wings and wrapping them around her like a cloak.

Looking around, she found she was in some sort of restaurant. There were small groups of people seated at a dozen tables around the large room. It took Mavri a moment to realize what was wrong.

None of them had wings!

She was delighted and scared at the same time; because one of Lazra's stories had turned out to be at least partially true, yet she was worried how they'd react to her. They were all adults, as well.

She was surprised to only receive one or two quick glances. A waiter approached her then.

"Can I help you, miss? It's awful late for a girl your age to be out alone, especially in this weather." The man seemed nice enough.

"The fact that I have wings doesn't bother you?" She asked incredulously. In her brother's tales the wingless folks had always been jealous of her people and hated them.

"Of course not, dear. This is Traversia. We've all seen much stranger things." He leaned towards her conspirationally. "Especially in the past few weeks. All those monster sightings... I'd be careful on the way home if were you."

"Not sure I _have_ a home to go back to," Mavri mumbled to herself grumpily, suddenly angry that she hadn't been able to stay with Lazra.

"Ah, you're one of those." The man's expression softened and he smiled sadly. "I think I know someone who can help you, and lucky for you he's nearby or you'd be spending the night here. It's just about half a block down this street, the small wooden building without a sign in front. You can't miss it." Mavri's eyes widened.

"Half a what down the what now?" she asked, and the waiter arched an eyebrow, realizing she really _wasn't_ from around here. One quick vocabulary lesson and a complimentary cup of warm tea later, Mavri was back in the rain again. It didn't take her long to find her destination. The house was more like those in Vertical, except it came up out of the ground instead of sideways off the cliff wall. She stood for a moment under the covered patio, ruffling her wings to make sure she wouldn't be dripping too much water al over the floor inside, took a deep breath for courage, and knocked on the door.

There was no answer for almost a minute, even though Mavri tried knocking again, and she was about to head back to the restaurant to make sure it was the right place when the door cracked open, letting a sliver of light through. A head poked out, looking around and then finally down at her. With a yelp of surprise the man threw the door open, yanked Mavri inside before she could protest, and slammed the door shut.

"What the hell do you @#$&*%^ think you're doing?!? Damned crazy kids, running around at night alone at a time like this..." The man kept up this monologue while rummaging around in a closet by the door, and in seconds produced a large blanket which Mavri accepted without complaint. There was a crackling blaze going in the fireplace and he gestured for Mavri to find a seat on the floor near it. She gladly complied, then turned and got a good look at the man for the first time. He seemed to be older, probably around his mid-thirties. He was a tall man, with a shock of tawny yellow hair, and intelligent blue eyes bordered with small wrinkles. As she watched him, he pulled out a large cigar from seemingly nowhere. He was about to light it when he sort of jumped a little, as if for the moment he'd forgotten he had company. "Mind if I smoke?" he asked gruffly.

"Doesn't bother me." Mavri waited while he took a couple long draws from the cigar, perfectly happy to lounge in front of the warm flames and dry off. The man spoke then.

"So I take it worlds are being drawn into the darkness again. Damn." Mavri didn't know how to answer that, but he continued. "The name's Dolin. And I think it'd be easier if you tell me what happened that brought you here to Traversia before we do anything else." Mavri quickly summed up everything she could remember up until she had arrived in Traversia. He sat silently for a moment longer. "Well, I think I can explain why you're here at least. Traversia is like a hub between many worlds. A lot of people end up here when their worlds are lost, and when the world is recovered some of them stay. That's why it's become such a huge city."  


"Wait--other worlds? There's _more?_"

"Dozens of 'em, kid. Nothing new to some of us, but I suppose your Vertical wasn't connected to the others yet. Well, until the darkness came at least."

"So this has happened before?" Mavri shuddered at the memory of the shadow monster and the darkness that had nearly swallowed her, and taken her brother and her friends.

"Every few hundred years, or so the legends go. Most people these days don't believe them anymore, but I've got my reasons." He pointed to a picture above the fireplace, a large group of people, all of them dressed in clothes alien to Mavri. None of them had wings; apparently, the people of Vertical were unique in that aspect as far as she knew. "See these guys? They're the ones that stopped the darkness the first time it came around." Dolin pointed out a man who looked quite a bit like him. "My great-many-times-grandfather, Cid Highwind." He pointed to another man, a large, strange weapon slung over his shoulder. "And Squall Leonheart. I'm related to him somewhere along the line too. That's where that came from," and he pointed to a rack above the mantle holding the weapon from the picture.

However, Mavri was focused on a boy in the center of the picture, holding what looked like a giant key, with a huge goofy grin plastered on his face. Mavri smiled sadly, reminded of her brother. Dolin noticed what she was looking at.

"That's Sora. And believe it or not, without him the darkness never would have been held back. That weapon he's got, it's something special." Mavri listened in awe for the half hour it took Dolin to tell the tale, and he was about to launch into the next time the shadows had appeared when he was interrupted by Mavri's stomach making a painful noise. She cringed a bit, and Dolin jumped up from where he was sitting.

"Dammit, why didn't you say you were hungry? Sitting out here for an hour practically starving..." His voice faded a bit as he moved to what Mavri assumed was the kitchen, and moments later came back with a sandwich. "Hope you don't mind leftovers, I can cook something later."

"It's fine, really!" Mavri managed between mouthfuls as she devoured the sandwich, practically inhaling it. She really had no idea how much time had passed since she'd last eaten. "So, what do you do here? Why did the waiter recommend I come here? It was an interesting story, but I don't know what it has to do with me, besides the Heartless attacking Vertical."

"Well, I run a little operation here for helping relocate people who've had to leave their world for one reason or another. After all, there are other dangers out there besides the @#$%& Heartless. It's unfortunate that humans are perfectly capable of embracing the darkness without the encouragement of outside forces." He closed his eyes and leaned forwards, rubbing his temples. "But if the Heartless have returned again... it's going to be getting very busy around here. It's curious that you managed to escape to Traversia from your world when you were already directly touched by the darkness though..." It couldn't be her, could it? Dolin thought to himself, eyeing the girl warily. No, she'd have the Keyblade by now. But he could feel it... there was something... strange about her. He put those thoughts on hold when he noticed Mavri had grown unnaturally silent, her head bowed, her face hidden in shadow cast from the fire. "What is it?"

"My brother... could he have been turned into a Heartless?" He had to still be alive; she could feel it in her heart, that warm presence that she sought whenever she was hurt or scared. But if he was absorbed by the darkness, would she be able to tell? Dolin wasn't sure how to answer such a question. Finally he smiled at her, patting her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure your brother's fine if he's as strong as you are. He's probably out there somewhere right now, looking for you." Mavri looked up at Dolin, and he could tell from her eyes that she had been barely holding back tears. The poor kid really was worried.

"I'm not strong. I couldn't even protect myself when the heartless attacked." She sobbed sudden. "If anything happened to Lazra... it's my fault. I'm always getting him into trouble." A single tear managed to escape her stranglehold on her emotions, but she refused to give in completely to sorrow. She imagined her brother scolding her for worrying about him.

"It's not physical strength I'm talking about!" Mavri froze, surprised by the vehemence in Dolin's voice. He thumped his chest with a fist. "It's strength of HEART that's important. Especially with the Heartless involved. With a strong heart you can overcome anything. And you've got to have one. Otherwise you'd have been consumed by the darkness. How else would you explain how you got here?"

"Th... thank you." Mavri said after a few more moments of silent brooding. "Of course you're right. Lazra is a strong person. He must be all right." She didn't say it, but she suspected that her brother had something to do with her escaping the Heartless safely. She hadn't allowed herself to worry about everyone else on Vertical yet though. If the Heartless had taken their world... then what about all her friends and family? Were they dead? Had they become Heartless now? Or were they just... gone?

Before Dolin and Mavri could continue their conversation, they were startled by the sound of something heavy hitting the door.

"Someone else, this late?" Dolin raised an eyebrow. He stood, moving to answer the door. Cracking it open slightly as he had with Mavri, he--

"No... something's wrong!" Mavri shouted in warning, not sure how she had felt it, but she was too late. Dolin was thrown backwards as the door was ripped off its hinges, his head hitting the mantle with a sickly-sounded crack. Mavri rushed to his side as he drooped to the floor, blood beginning to trickle down the back of his neck from a head wound. He moaned, sitting up slowly, dizzily, holding his hand to the back of his head.

"Damn..."

A large shape stood in the doorway, its outline tinted red from the firelight. A creature of shadow, humanoid, with large antennae curving back from its head and wicked claws on its arms. Its glowing eyes glared ferally at Mavri. 

"Is that... a Heartless!?" The beast crept forwards silently, not taking its eyes off the winged girl. She stood up quickly, throwing the blanket off and looking around for a weapon. She remembered how the Heartless back in the cave had been largely unhurt by any normal attacks, and this looked much stronger than that one, but she wasn't about to give up easily.

"The... gunblade..." Dolin stuttered. Mavri realized he must have been talking about his ancestor's weapon. Grabbing it off its stand she turned to face the Heartless, which stopped in its tracks, apparently a bit surprised.

"Don't come any closer!" She screamed, waving the large weapon at it. She stumbled slightly as the blade curved through the air; it was a bit too heavy for her to use properly, but she didn't care. The Heartless danced backwards, easily avoiding it.

Then Mavri saw that the Heartless wasn't alone.

Three more rose from the ground silently, emerging from the shadows. Mavri wondered why the first one hadn't just entered that way instead of waiting for them to open the door. Perhaps this house had some sort of protection. Well, it was too late for that to be of any help.

One of the Heartless lunged at her without warning, and she gasped in surprise, instinctively swinging the gunblade upwards as she recoiled. There was a bright flash, and she grabbed the wall to steady herself as she fell backwards. She opened her eyes to see the Heartless recoiling in pain, one of its arms completely severed. There was no blood flowing from the wound; instead, its surface was glowing with a soft blue light. She stared at the gunblade in her hands, as smoke slowly rose from the edge.

"Impossible!" Dolin rose slowly, recovered enough to stand. "That thing is ancient! It shouldn't even be sharp enough to cut through paper anymore, let alone a Heartless! What the hell did you do?"

"I... I don't know..." Mavri stammered, just as stunned and confused as Dolin was. However, the other Heartless didn't give her time to recover. All four of them, even the one she thought she had disabled, charged her at once. Hoping for the best, she brought the gunblade around in an arc again. This time she saw it. Energy coursed up her arm and into the weapon, which for half a second grew into a huge glowing blade, slashing through the Heartless and knocking them aside. They keened softly, and then just... dissipated, glowing orbs of light rising from their bodies only to disappear as well. The blade returned to normal afterwards. Mavri dropped the weapon after that, unable to hold it up any longer.

"I... don't think I can do that again. The gunblade's just too big for me."

"At least that's all of them, then," Dolin said, but Mavri had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't shake, as if there was a snake crawling inside her and coiling tightly around her heart.

"No." She took an unsteady step away from the door. "It's not over yet." Dolin was already at the doorway, however.

"Damn it all to hell..."

The teeming horde of Heartless outside didn't respond to his curse.

Dolin backed away, then Grabbed Mavri by the shoulders. "I've got to get you out of here... they're probably already at the back door too... follow me, hurry!" She didn't have much choice as he swept the gunblade up off the floor, then charged up a flight of stairs, dragging her after him. Mavri could hear the sounds of Heartless creeping around in the room below; it wouldn't be long before they got upstairs. Dolin stopped in front of a door, then threw it open. "Listen. You can jump across from the roof to the building next door. Just get as far away as you can. I don't know why but it's you they're after." He stared to push her out into the rain but she resisted, hanging on the edge of the doorway.

"What about you!?" She had only just met him, but Dolin was a good man. He gripped the handle of his ancestor's gunblade so tightly that his knuckles whitened. It was obvious that he was afraid, but he put on a show of bravado nonetheless.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." He gritted his teeth as the first heartless poked its head above the stairwell, its hungry eyes taking the two in. "Now GO!" He shoved Mavri out the door, kicking it shut and locking it.

"Wait!" But it was too late. Mavri pounded on the door once angrily, then sagged against it. "That idiot... I'm not worth throwing his life away..." But she realized that he wouldn't want to die in vain. And maybe, just maybe, he could possibly survive. With a quick prayer for his safety, Mavri ran to the side of the roof, to where a balcony could be seen on the next building over, with ladders leading up and down. She didn't know it at the time, but it was a fire escape. Nodding to herself, she made a running jump, then flared her wings open, gliding over to it. She stared in horror at the uncountable army of Heartless below her and almost slammed headfirst into the railing before she realized she was there. As she landed, she saw every glowing pair of yellow eyes below turn on her.

Up. Definitely up.

There wasn't enough wind to fly that high, so she would have to use the ladders. She began the slow ascent, climbing from platform to platform. She felt the rungs shake under her feet and looked down to see the Heartless mob beginning to swarm up after her, scaling the walls of the building with their claws. Fear shot through her as she realized they could climb faster than her. But she had a head start, and was almost to the top...

She reached the rooftop seconds before the Heartless, and started running to the other side.

  
"What am I supposed to do next?"

Her escape was cut off as Shadows began pouring onto the roof from every side. She couldn't even fly away now. Within moments she found herself trapped at the center of a swiftly-closing ring of Heartless...

She had to try. Spreading into the air, she leapt upwards, trying to glide over the army below her, but she couldn't get enough height. If only there'd been even a small gust of wind... but the air was still that night, as dark claws closed over her legs, pulling her down, down beneath a sea of darkness...

"Lazra... I'm sorry..." she choked.

**__**

MAVRI!

---

Lazra was dreaming again.

He was alone, isolated, cut off from everything he knew. Suspended in an infinite void, he could see nothing, feel nothing. He could barely hear his own thoughts, small murmurs in the back of his mind... images of people... places... and everywhere, the all-consuming darkness...

His sister... he could still feel her, despite the infinite deadness of... whatever place he was in. But even in this ray of light and warmth and love the shadows intruded. Lazra tried to warn her, but could do nothing.

"Lazra... I'm sorry..."

****

NO!

A warm light filled the void as the spear materialized before him, driving away the darkness.

This light... he didn't need it. Mavri did. He screamed her name from the bottom of his soul, desperately willing that whatever power the spear possessed would carry his voice to her.

And then, exhausted, his consciousness faded, and he drifted back into the darkness...

---

"How did so many Heartless get to this world already?" Rena shouted over the whirr of the ship's guns as she blasted another Heartless craft out of the sky. Geros didn't respond, concentrating on piloting the ship safely past the swarms of enemy ships. Rena didn't get along that well with the muscular, dog-faced Knight Captain, but she couldn't complain about his skills.

"The Keybearer must be here!" Geros finally answered during a quick lull. "There's no other reason the Heartless would be here in such great numbers."

"We've got to hurry then... he's in great danger if he's alone, and doesn't know how to use his power properly yet." Rena was angry with herself that they hadn't been able to get to the new Keyblade Master first.

"We're already going as fast as we can!" Geros growled. "If we push the _Invincible_ too far beyond its limits we'll be trapped on Traversia!" Rena sighed in frustration.

"I _know._" They finally broke through the clouds and could see the vast city stretching below them. As they got closer to the ground they could see an endless army of Heartless. "Follow them! Wherever they're going, the Keybearer must be." Geros complied, flying low over the buildings. "Slow down! Look at that building..." she gasped. The entire structure was black with Heartless, flowing up its walls and across its roof to trap someone there. 'That's got to be him! I hope we're not too late!"

"Look," Geros said grimly. They were just in time to watch a body being dragged down beneath the horde.

"No, it can't be!"

Suddenly an explosion of light erupted from the rooftop, sending the Heartless flying in all directions. Rena shielded her eyes momentarily as the brightness overwhelmed her, then stared in shock as it dissipated. Geros brought the ship to hover over the now-empty rooftop, opening the hatch. Rena ran to look outside, and found a young winged girl collapsed there. "Geros, I'll take the controls! Bring her inside quickly, before the Heartless recover!" But beneath her concern for the girl, she was confused and awed. She had never heard of a Keybearer wielding such power before.

The Heartless began pouring back onto the roof just as Geros got back inside, the girl slung over his broad shoulder. "Let's get out of here!" He gently put the girl down and strapped her into one of the passenger seats, then returned to the controls. "Where should we go?"

"Anywhere but here! We can return to Traversia once the Heartless invasion subsides a bit... I didn't think there could be so many at once, this soon after the door being opened..."

Blasting past the Heartless blockade, the Disney guardians left the battered world of Traversia behind, escaping into the ether...

---

__

"Do you understand how it was you escaped the assimilation of your world?"

"I accepted the darkness, rather than fighting it. It was simple. The darkness promised power, and I wanted it."

"Yes. The darkness comes easily to those whose hearts thirst for it. But be careful that it does not consume you. It seeks to be your master just as you seek to master it."

"I understand."

"You will search for them, then? Those who fight the darkness that feeds you?"

"Yes. This power is mine now, and I will not have anyone take it from me."


End file.
